Washing-machine.



S. J. HARDING.

WASHING MACHINE. APPLICATION rum) JAN.16, 1909 971,993,, Patented Oct. 4, 1910.

airframe THE NUR'RJS PETERS co, WASH/NGYGN, n. c.

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SIMON J. HARDING, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

WASHING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON J. HARDING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful WVashing-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in washing machines.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of that class of washing machines employing rubbing mechanism, and equipped with a pump for discharging water upon the rubbing mechanism and the clothes during the operation of washing, and to increase the efliciency of the pump by enabling the operation thereof to be controlled and limited to the time when the rubbing mechanism is operating on the clothes, so as to prevent the pump from splashing water when the movable part of the rubbing mechanism is swung back to permit the clothes to be placed in and removed from the machine.

Another object of the invention is to enable the rubbing mechanism to be arranged out of the way so as to fully expose the tub, or other receptacle over which the washing machine is placed, and to provide means for draining the water from the pump mechanism when through with the machine so as to avoid dropping water upon the floor while moving the machine from the tub, and to enable the parts to thoroughly dry to prevent rusting.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists. in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :-Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of a washing machine, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation partly in section. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, showing the upper end of the discharge spout of the pump and the side rollers for supporting the rubbing roller. Fig. 5 is a reverse plan view of the pump.

Specification of Letters Patent.

App1ication filed January 16, 1909.

Patented Got. a, 1916.

Serial No. 472,674.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

The machine comprises in its construction a supporting frame 1 of substantially rectangular form, provided at opposite sides with upwardly extending standards 2 and having side bars 3 and connecting front and rear transverse bars a and 5. The side bars are extended in advance and in rear of the cross bars and rest upon the tub (3 upon which the machine is placed, and the rearwardly extending portions of the said side bars are provided with notches 7, receiving the upper edge of the tub at opposite sides thereof, whereby the machine is rigidly held in position on the tub without employing fastening devices, and is adapted to be quickly moved when desired.

The supporting frame may be constructed of any desired dimensions, and the standards are provided in their upper portions with longitudinal slots 8 and are connected at their upper ends by the cross bar 9, having its terminals reduced and secured in the slots 8 at the upper ends thereof. The slots 8 receive journals 10 of a swinging frame 11, composed of a transverse shaft or bar 12 and depending sides 18, carrying arubbing roller 14:, and provided with forwardly extending inclined arms 15, which are connected by a transverse handle bar 16, by means of which the swinging frame is oscillated to carry the rubbing roller over a lower rubber or bed 17. The journals 10 of the top bar or shaft 12 are preferably extended beyond the outer faces of the standards, and coiled springs 18 are connected with the said journals for yieldably maintaining the rubbing roller in engagement with the clothes to secure the necessary pressure during the rubbing operation. The lower ends of the springs are connected with pins 19, and a plurality of perforations 20 may be provided in the standards to permit an adjustment of the pins 19 for regulating the tension of the springs and the consequent pressure of the rubbing roller on the clothes.

The rubbing roller is longitudinally corrugated and transversely grooved to provide a rubbing face, and the lower rubber or bed 17, which is also equipped with an upper corrugated rubbing surface, is curved longitudinally of the machine to present a concave upper rubbing surface, and is connected at the rear portion with the sides of the supporting frame by a transverse pintle rod 21, which hinges the lower rubber or bed to the supporting frame and enables the said lower rubber or bed to be swung upwardly and rearwardly, as indicated by the dotted line 22 in Fig. 1 of the drawing to arrange the lower rubber or bed out of the way and to expose the tub and the contents thereof, so that the clothes may be readily removed from and placed in the same. The lower rubber or bed is supported in operative po sition by means of a transverse rod 23, located in advance of the pintle rod and suitably secured at its ends to the sides of the supporting frame, preferably by being arranged in perforations thereof.

The oscillatory frame is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 2%, secured at its front end to the bar 12 centrally thereof, and provided at its rear portion with a slot 25 through which passes a pump rod or stem 26. The pump rod or stem 26 is guided in an opening 27 of a rear connecting bar 28 of the supporting frame, and it is equipped at its lower end with a suitable plunger head 29, which operates within a pump casing 30. The pump casing 30, which is constructed of sheet metal, or other suitable material, is substantially rectangular and is open at the top, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, and it is suspended below the rear portion of the supporting frame by means of a discharge spout 31, extending upward from the front portion of the pump casing. The discharge tube is oblong in cross section, being composed of straight front and rear walls and narrow connecting side walls, and it is provided at the top with a forwardly extending arm or branch 32, arranged at a slight inclination and adapted to discharge the water in a thin sheet or stream upon the rubbing mechanism and the clothes. The arm or branch 32 is arranged at right angles to the body portion of the discharge spout 31, which is secured to the rear face of the cross bar 5 by a metallic strap 33. The recessing of the rear extensions of the side bars of the supporting frame operates to set the supporting frame at a slight inclination and results in a corresponding inclination of the arm or branch 32 of the discharge spout. The transverse bar 5 is provided at its front face with a recess 34, into which extends the arm or branch 32 of the discharge spout 31, and the discharge spout terminates short of the front face of the bar 5 to space it from the rubbing roller and to prevent it from being struck by the same. The recess prevents the water discharged by the spout from coming in contact with the bar 5, and the pump is thereby adapted to discharge a clear stream or sheet of water.

The bottom of the pump casing is provided at intervals with inlet apertures 35,

and it is covered with a screen 36 of wire gauze, having a sufiiciently fine mesh to prevent the clothes from protruding through the relatively large inlet apertures and interfering with the operation of the valve 37 of the pump. The valve 37 consists of a plate or piece of sheet metal, arranged upon the bottom of the pump casing to close the inlet apertures 35 on the down stroke of the plunger, and it is adapted to open on the up stroke to permitthe water to flow into the pump casing. The screen in practice will be n ade removable so that it can be taken off When desired, and it can be secured to the bottom of the casing by any suitable means.

The pump rod receives a coiled spring 38, located above the cross bar 28 and arranged between the same and a stop consisting of a pin 39 and a washer or plate 40. A similar washer or plate ll is preferably arranged upon the upper face of the bar 28 to receive the lower end of the spring. hen the oscillatory frame is swung forwardly, the rearwardly extending arm 24c is moved downwardly and carries with it the pump rod, compressing the spring and operating the pump. A sleeve a2 is preferably interposed between the pin 39 and the arm 24, and it is spaced from a top stop or projection 13, the space between the sleeve and the stop or projection 43 permitting the swinging frame to move independently of the pump rod. This allows the rubbing roller to move rearwardly beyond the lower rubber or bed to the transverse bar 5, and to also move forwardly fromthe transverse bar to the bed without operating the pump until the rub bing roller is in position over the bed or lower rubber for engaging the clothes. This prevents the water from splashing when the operator is moving the rubbing roller off the lower rubber or bed and in bringing it back to the same. The pump rod 26 is provided with a plurality of perforations 44: to receive the pin for controlling the operation of the pump, so that the water will be dis charged at the proper time. The pump rod and the plunger are supported at the limit of their upward movement by means of the spring 38, and by raising and lowering the stop pin 39, the position of the plunger within the casing may be changed. The independent movement of the arm is increased and the stroke of the pump is thereby controlled. The spring also serves to assist in moving the plunger rod upward and in overcoming the suction of the pump incident to the upward movement of the plunger. The arm of the oscillatory frame is adapted to engage the upper stop or projection 43 to positively move the plunger while the arm is moving in the space between the upper and lower stops.

The side bars of the supporting frame are provided at opposite sides of their inner faces with side rollers 45, forming supports for the rubbing roller and spaced from the rear transverse bar 5 a suflicient distance to permit the rubbing roller to ride upward over the side rollers and rest against the rear bar 5. The side rollers &5, which are mounted on suitable pivots, support the rubbing roller away from the lower rubber or bed, and the slots 8 and the springs 18 permit the upward movement of the oscillatory frame, which is maintained in its supported position upon the side rollers by the springs 18.

The oscillatory frame carries a suitable soap holder &6, and the pump is equipped with a valve operating rod 4.7, slidable in a guide 48 and provided at its lower end with an approximately L-shaped arm 49, extend ing through the screen 36 and the bottom of the pump casing and arranged to engage the valve plate and adapted to lift the same to permit the water within the pump to drain from the bottom thereof. The valve operating rod is provided at the upper end with a suitable handle 50, adapted to be grasped by the operator.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a lower rubbing surface, a pump located in rear of the'said rubbing surface and having a vertically reciprocatable pump rod provided with spaced upper and lower stops, an oscillatory frame hav ing an upper rubbing device and provided with an arm operating between the stops of the pump rod and having a limited movement independently of the latter during the movement of the oscillatory frame toward the front of the machine to cause the pump to remain inactive until the clothes are ex posed, said oscillatory frame operating the pump during the latter portion of its movement toward the front of the machine and on the down stroke of the pump rod to discharge water upon the clothes, and a spring connected with the pump rod and arranged to be compressed on the down stroke of the same so as to move the pump rod upward while the arm of the oscillatory frame is moving upward in the space between the stops.

2. A washing machine comprising a supporting frame, a lower rubbing surface, a pump located in rear of the said rubbing surface and having a vertically reciprocatable pump rod provided with spaced upper and lower stops, an oscillatory frame having an upper rubbing device and provided with an arm operating between the stops of the pump rod and having a limited movement independently of the latter during the movement of the oscillatory frame toward the front of the machine to cause the pump to remain inactive until the clothes are exposed, said oscillatory frame operating the pump during the latter portion of its movement toward the front of the machine and on the down stroke of the pump rod to discharge water upon the clothes, and a coiled spring mounted on the pump rod and arranged to be compressed between the lower stop and the frame of the machine on the down stroke of the said pump rod so as to move the pump rod upwardly while the arm of the oscillatory frame is moving upward in the space between the stops.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STMON J. HARDING.

lVitnesses:

ELwooD S. HARRIS- WV. B. RANDALL, 

